2005 Alabama Monitoring Report: Highly Qualified Teachers ...



December 20, 2005

HIGHLY QUALIFIED TEACHERS AND

IMPROVING TEACHER QUALITY STATE GRANTS (ESEA TITLE II, PART A)

MONITORING REPORT

Alabama Department of Education

November 8-10, 2005

U.S. Department of Education Monitoring Team:

Elizabeth Witt

Miriam Lund

Carin Celebuski (Westat)

Alabama Department of Education (ADE):

Joseph Morton, State Superintendent of Education

Eddie Johnson, Deputy State Superintendent

Ruth Ash, Deputy State Superintendent

Feagin Johnson, Assistant State Superintendent

Catherine Moore, Federal Programs Administrator

Maggie Rivers, Federal Programs Coordinator

Edmund Moore, Federal Programs Staff (Title II Supervisor)

Audrie Bradford, Federal Programs Staff

Cindie Townley, Federal Programs Staff

Anita Buckley Commander, Director of Classroom Improvement

Jane Meyer, Director of Teacher Education and Certification

Gail Blalock, Teacher Certification Specialist

Patsy Eiland, Information Systems Services

Barry Kachelhofer, LEA Financial Assistance (Accounting)

Tina Hartsill, SDE Accounting

Vera Guettler, SDE Accounting

State Agency for Higher Education:

Elizabeth French, Director of Institutional Effectiveness and Planning, Alabama Commission on Higher Education

Mobile Area Education Foundation

Susan Pruet

Overview of Alabama:

Number of Districts: 131

Number of Teachers: 49,360

|Title II Funding Amounts |FY 2004 |FY 2005 |

|Total State allocation |$46,771,113 |$46,517,375 |

|Allocation for local educational agencies (LEAs) |$43,988,232 |$43,749,592 |

|State educational agency (SEA) State Activities allocation |$1,157,585 |$1,151,305 |

|State Agency for Higher Education (SAHE) allocation |$1,157,585 |$1,151,305 |

Scope of Review:

Like all State educational agencies (SEAs), the Alabama Department of Education (ADE), as a condition of receiving funds under Title I, Part A and Title II, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), provided an assurance to the U.S. Department of Education (the Department) that it would administer these programs in accordance with all applicable statutory and regulatory requirements, including those in Title I, Part A that concern “Highly Qualified Teachers” (HQT) and those that govern the use of Title II, Part A funds. See §9304(a)(1) of the ESEA. One of the specific requirements the Department established for an SEA’s receipt of program funds under its consolidated state application (§9302(b)) was submission to the Department of annual data on how well the State has been meeting its performance target for Performance Indicator 3.1: “The percentage of classes being taught by ‘highly qualified’ teachers (as the term is defined in §9101(23) of the ESEA), in the aggregate and in ‘high-poverty’ schools (as the term is defined in §1111(h)(1)(C)(viii) of the ESEA).”

The Department’s monitoring visit to Alabama had two purposes. One was to review the progress of the State in meeting the ESEA’s HQT requirements. The second was to review the use of ESEA Title II, Part A funds by the SEA, selected LEAs, and the State agency for higher education (SAHE), to ensure that the funds are being used to prepare, retain, and recruit high-quality teachers and principals so that all children will achieve to a high academic achievement standard and to their full potential.

The monitoring review was conducted from November 8-10, 2005, at the offices of the ADE. In addition to meeting with the ADE staff noted above, as part of the review, the Department monitoring team met with Elizabeth French, SAHE Coordinator. The monitoring team conducted conference calls with representatives of Elmore County, Alabama, and Butler County, Alabama, and conducted a site visit to Montgomery County, Alabama.

Summary of Monitoring Indicators

|Monitoring Area 1: Highly Qualified Teacher Systems & Procedures |

|Element Number |Description |Status |Page |

|Critical Element 1.1 |Has the State developed and implemented procedures, consistent with the |Recommendation |7 |

| |statutory definition of highly qualified, to determine whether all | | |

| |teachers of core academic subjects are highly qualified (§9101(23))? | | |

|Critical Element 1.2 |Are all new elementary school teachers (including special education |Finding |7 |

| |teachers, as appropriate) required to pass a rigorous State test in | | |

| |reading, writing, mathematics, and the other areas of the elementary | | |

| |school curriculum to demonstrate subject-matter competency | | |

| |(§9101(23)(B)(II))? | | |

|Critical Element 1.3 |Are all new middle and secondary school teachers (including special |Finding |7 |

| |education teachers, as appropriate) required to demonstrate | | |

| |subject-matter competency in each core academic subject they teach | | |

| |(§9101(23)(B)(II)(ii))? | | |

|Critical Element 1.4 |Are all veteran (i.e., those who are not new to the profession) |Finding |8 |

| |elementary school teachers (including special education teachers, as |Recommendation | |

| |appropriate) required to demonstrate subject-matter competency by | | |

| |passing a rigorous State test or by completing the State’s “High | | |

| |Objective Uniform State Standard of Evaluation” (HOUSSE) procedures | | |

| |(§9101(23)(C))? | | |

|Critical Element 1.5 |Are all veteran middle and secondary teachers (including special |Finding |9 |

| |education teachers, as appropriate) required to demonstrate | | |

| |subject-matter competency in each core academic subject they teach? | | |

|Critical Element 1.6 |If the State has developed HOUSSE procedures, please provide a copy of |Met Requirements |NA |

| |the most current version(s). For each set of HOUSSE procedures the | | |

| |State has developed, please describe how it meets each of the statutory | | |

| |requirements of §9101(23)(C)(ii). | | |

|Critical Element 1.7 |How does the SEA ensure that, since the beginning of the 2002-03 school |Finding |9 |

| |year, districts hire only highly qualified teachers (including special | | |

| |education teachers, as appropriate) to teach in Title I programs? | | |

|Critical Element 1.8 |How has the SEA ensured, since the beginning of the 2002-03 school year,|Met Requirements |NA |

| |that districts that use ESEA Title II funds to reduce class size hire | | |

| |only highly qualified teachers for such positions? | | |

|Critical Element 1.9 |Does the SEA’s plan establish annual measurable objectives for each LEA |Met Requirements |NA |

| |and school to ensure that annual increases occur: | | |

| |in the percentage of highly qualified teachers at each LEA and school; | | |

| |and | | |

| |in the percentage of teachers who are receiving high-quality | | |

| |professional development to enable them to become highly qualified and | | |

| |successful classroom teachers (§1119(a)(2)(A))? | | |

|Critical Element 1.10 |Does the SEA also have a plan with specific steps to ensure that poor |Met Requirements |NA |

| |and minority children are not taught at higher rates than other children| | |

| |by inexperienced, unqualified, and/or out-of-field teachers? Does the | | |

| |plan include measures to evaluate and publicly report the progress of | | |

| |such steps (§1111(b)(8)(C))? | | |

|Critical Element 1.11 |Has the State reported to the Secretary in its Consolidated State |Finding |10 |

| |Performance Report (CSPR) the number and percentage of core academic | | |

| |classes taught by highly qualified teachers, in the aggregate and in | | |

| |high-poverty schools, consistent with the statutory definition of highly| | |

| |qualified (§1111(h)(4)(G); §9101(23))? | | |

|Critical Element 1.12 |Does the State prepare and disseminate to the public an Annual State |Finding |10 |

| |Report Card (§1111(h)(1)(C)(viii))? If so, how is it disseminated? | | |

|Monitoring Area 2: Administration of ESEA Title II, Part A |

|Element Number |Description |Status |Page |

|Critical Element 2.1 |Does the SEA allocate funds according to the statute, using the most|Met Requirements |NA |

| |recent Census Bureau data as described in the Non-Regulatory | | |

| |Guidance (§2121(a))? | | |

|Critical Element 2.2 |Does the SEA require an application from each LEA before providing |Commendation |11 |

| |Title II, Part A funding? If yes, what information does the SEA | | |

| |require in the LEA application (§2122(b))? | | |

|Critical Element 2.3 |In particular, does the SEA require each LEA to describe how the |Met Requirements |NA |

| |activities to be carried out are based on the required local needs | | |

| |assessment (§2122(b))? | | |

|Critical Element 2.4 |Does the SEA have a procedure to determine the amount of funds each |Met Requirements |NA |

| |LEA expended during the period of availability? | | |

|Critical Element 2.5 |Does the SEA have a procedure to regularly review the drawdowns of |Met Requirements |NA |

| |the LEAs? | | |

|Critical Element 2.6 |Does the SEA have a written policy on allowable carryover funds? |Met Requirements |NA |

|Critical Element 2.7 |If an LEA cannot obligate funds within the 27 months of availability|Met Requirements |NA |

| |(which includes the extra year of availability permitted under the | | |

| |Tydings amendment), does the SEA have a procedure for reallocating | | |

| |these funds to other LEAs? | | |

|Critical Element 2.8 |Does the SEA have records to show that each LEA meets the |Met Requirements |NA |

| |maintenance of effort requirements? | | |

|Critical Element 2.9 |Does the SEA conduct regular, systematic reviews of LEAs to monitor |Commendation |11 |

| |for compliance with Federal statutes and regulations, applicable | | |

| |State rules and policies, and the approved subgrant application? | | |

| |(Please provide monitoring plan and instruments onsite.) | | |

|Critical Element 2.10 |Does the SEA ensure that it and its component LEAs are audited |Met Requirements |NA |

| |annually, if required, and that all corrective actions required | | |

| |through this process are fully implemented? | | |

|Critical Element 2.11 |Has the SEA identified and provided technical assistance to LEAs |Met Requirements |NA |

| |that are not making progress toward meeting their annual measurable | | |

| |objectives in meeting the highly qualified teacher challenge | | |

| |(§2141)? | | |

|Critical Element 2.12 |Has the SEA provided guidance to the LEAs on initiating consultation|Met Requirements |NA |

| |with nonpublic school officials for equitable services? If so, | | |

| |please provide documentation of the guidance at the time of the | | |

| |visit. | | |

|Monitoring Area 3: State Activities |

|Element Number |Description |Status |Page |

|Critical Element 3.1 |Does the State use its State Activities funds to promote the recruitment, |Commendation |11 |

| |hiring, training, and retention of highly qualified teachers and | | |

| |principals? | | |

|Critical Element 3.2 |Does the State support activities that focus on increasing the |Met Requirements |NA |

| |subject-matter knowledge of teachers and that assist teachers to become | | |

| |highly qualified? | | |

|Monitoring Area 4: State Agency for Higher Education (SAHE) Activities |

|Element Number |Description |Status |Page |

|Critical Element 4.1 |Did the SAHE manage a competition for eligible partnerships? |Commendation |11 |

|Critical Element 4.2 |Does the SAHE have procedures to ensure that eligible partnerships include|Met Requirements |NA |

| |the required members, i.e., an institution of higher education and the | | |

| |division of the institution that prepares teachers and principals, a | | |

| |school of arts and sciences, and a high-need LEA? | | |

Area 1: Highly Qualified Teacher Systems and Procedures

Critical Element 1.1: Has the State developed and implemented procedures, consistent with the statutory definition of highly qualified, to determine whether all teachers of core academic subjects are highly qualified (§9101(23))?

Recommendation: The ADE issues a one-year, non-renewable emergency certificate to address teacher shortages. By the end of the 2005-06 academic year, all teachers of core academic subjects must meet the definition of highly qualified, which includes holding full State certification. The State should consider eliminating this emergency license.

Critical Element 1.2: Are all new elementary school teachers (including special education teachers, as appropriate) required to pass a rigorous State test in reading, writing, mathematics, and the other areas of the elementary school curriculum to demonstrate subject-matter competency (§9101(23)(B)(II))?

Finding: Alabama offers a special alternative certification in elementary education that allows participants to enter the program, begin teaching, and be counted as highly qualified before passing the Praxis II content assessment. The review team advised the State that teachers in alternative certification programs must demonstrate subject-area competence before they can be considered highly qualified, so elementary teachers must be counted as not highly qualified until they pass the Praxis II assessment. The team noted that those special alternative certification candidates who teach at the secondary level can be considered highly qualified if they hold a degree in their assigned teaching field.

Citation: Section 9101(23)(B)(i)(II) of the ESEA permits elementary school teachers new to the profession to demonstrate subject-matter competency needed to be highly qualified only by passing a rigorous State test of subject knowledge and teaching skills in reading, writing, mathematics, and other areas of the basic elementary curriculum.

Further Action Required: The ADE must submit a written plan with specific procedures and a timeline for ensuring that all elementary school teachers new to the profession are highly qualified.

Critical Element 1.3: Are all new middle and secondary school teachers (including special education teachers, as appropriate) required to demonstrate subject-matter competency in each core academic subject they teach (§9101(23)(B)(II)(ii))?

Finding: The State does not require new middle and secondary school teachers of history, geography, civics/government, or economics to demonstrate subject-matter competency in each of those subjects they teach. The broad-field assessment used for the demonstration of social studies content knowledge for new teachers may not provide adequate subject-matter preparation for each of the core academic subjects explicitly noted in the statute. Similarly, coursework required for the composite social studies endorsement may not provide adequate subject-matter preparation for each of the core academic subjects explicitly noted in the statute.

Citation: Section 9101(11) of the ESEA identifies history, geography, civics/government, and economics as individual core academic subjects. Section 9101(23)(B)(ii) of the ESEA requires new teachers of core academic subjects to demonstrate subject-matter competency in each core academic subject they teach.

Further Action Required: The ADE must ensure that all new history, geography, civics/government, and economics teachers demonstrate subject-matter competency in each of these subjects that they teach. If the ADE has determined that the coursework requirement for an academic major in social studies provides coursework “equivalent to a major” in each or in a subset of these specific core academic subjects, it must specifically explain the basis for this determination.

Critical Element 1.4: Are all veteran (i.e., those who are not new to the profession) elementary school teachers (including special education teachers, as appropriate) required to demonstrate subject-matter competency by passing a rigorous State test or by completing the State’s “High Objective Uniform State Standard of Evaluation” (HOUSSE) procedures (§9101(23)(C))?

Finding: According to statute, veteran elementary teachers are required to demonstrate subject-matter competency by passing a rigorous State test or by completing the State’s HOUSSE procedure. Because of a federal consent decree that until very recently prevented the State from testing teachers, the test option was unavailable to elementary teachers in Alabama. Because the State did not have a HOUSSE until quite recently, it devised alternative, non-HOUSSE options by which veteran elementary teachers could demonstrate subject-area competence. While these procedures look much like HOUSSE options available in other States, they are not, officially, a HOUSSE. Consequently, Alabama considers many veteran elementary teachers who have neither passed a test nor completed an official HOUSSE to be highly qualified, a designation not in accordance with NCLB.

Citation: Section 9101(23)(C) of the ESEA says that veteran elementary teachers can demonstrate subject-matter competency either by passing a rigorous State assessment of academic subject matter or by using the HOUSSE.

Further Action Required: The ADE must revise its procedures so that veteran elementary teachers may demonstrate subject-knowledge competency only by passing a test or by satisfying the requirements of the State’s HOUSSE procedure.

Recommendation: The State should consider incorporating the current non-testing, non-HOUSSE options by which veteran elementary teachers demonstrate subject-area competence into the Alabama HOUSSE.

Critical Element 1.5: Are all veteran middle and secondary teachers (including special education teachers, as appropriate) required to demonstrate subject-matter competency in each core academic subject they teach?

Finding: The State does not require middle and secondary school teachers of history, geography, civics/government, or economics who are not new to the profession to demonstrate subject-matter competency in each of the four discrete areas of the statute. Thus, veteran teachers of history, geography, civics/government, or economics may not have demonstrated adequate subject-matter preparation for each of the core academic subjects explicitly noted in the statute.

Citation: Section 9101(23)(C) of the ESEA requires middle or secondary school teachers not new to the profession to demonstrate subject-matter competency in each of the core academic subjects they teach by passing a content test, successfully completing an academic major, coursework equivalent to a major, advanced certification, a graduate degree, or by satisfying the State’s HOUSSE requirements.

Further Action Required: The ADE must ensure that all history, geography, civics/government, and economics teachers who are not new to the profession demonstrate subject-matter competency in each of these subjects that they teach no later than the end of the 2005-06 school year. If the ADE has determined that the coursework requirement for an academic major in social studies provides coursework “equivalent to a major” in each or in a subset of these specific core academic subjects, it must specifically explain the basis for this determination.

Critical Element 1.7: How does the SEA ensure that, since the beginning of the

2002-03 school year, districts hire only highly qualified teachers (including special education teachers, as appropriate) to teach in Title I programs?

Finding: The State cannot ensure that new teachers hired for Title I programs are highly qualified. Because of job candidate shortages, some LEAs are hiring non-highly qualified teachers in Title I schools.

Citation: Section 1119(a)(1) of the ESEA requires that all teachers hired after the first day of the 2002-03 school year to teach in Title I programs must be highly qualified.

Further Action Required: The ADE must submit a written plan with specific procedures and a timeline for requiring LEAs in the State to ensure that all teachers hired to teach in Title I programs since the first day of the 2002-03 school year, including special education teachers providing direct instruction in core academic subjects, demonstrate, in a manner consistent with statute, that they are highly qualified in each core academic subject they teach by no later than the end of the 2005-06 school year.

Critical Element 1.11: Has the State reported to the Secretary in its Consolidated State Performance Report (CSPR) the number and percentage of core academic classes taught by highly qualified teachers, in the aggregate and in high-poverty schools, consistent with the statutory definition of highly qualified (§1111(h)(4)(G); §9101(23))?

Finding: The number and percentage of core academic classes taught by highly qualified teachers reported in the Alabama CSPR are incorrect because Alabama offers non-testing, non-HOUSSE options by which veteran elementary teachers can demonstrate subject-area competence. Findings in 1.3, 1.4, and 1.5 also affect the accuracy of figures reported in the CSPR.

Citation: Section 1111(h)(4)(G) of the ESEA requires each SEA annually to report to the U.S. Secretary of Education on the percentage of classes (in core academic subjects) taught by highly qualified teachers in the State, local educational agency, and school (a summary of which §1111(h)(5) requires the Secretary annually to report to Congress).

Further Action Required: The ADE must submit a written plan with specific procedures and a timeline for reporting to the Secretary through the CSPR in a manner consistent with the statutory requirements, as required by §1111(h).

Critical Element 1.12: Does the State prepare and disseminate to the public an Annual State Report Card (§1111(h)(1)(C)(viii))? If so, how is it disseminated?

Finding: The Annual State Report Card for Alabama does not report the number and percentage of core academic classes not taught by highly qualified teachers, as required by statute, but instead reports those taught by highly qualified teachers. Further, the number and percentage of core academic classes taught by highly qualified teachers reported in the Annual State Report Card for Alabama are incorrect since Alabama offers non-testing, non-HOUSSE options by which veteran elementary teachers can demonstrate subject-area competence. Findings in 1.3, 1.4, and 1.5 also affect the accuracy of figures reported in the Annual State Report Card.

Citation: Section 1111(h)(1)(C)(viii) of the ESEA requires each SEA to include in its Annual State Report Card data on the percentage of classes in the State not taught (in core academic subjects) by highly qualified teachers, in the aggregate and disaggregate by high-poverty (as the term is defined in §1111(h)(1)(C)(viii) of the ESEA) compared to low-poverty schools.

Further Action Required: The ADE must report to the public and to the Department, as required by §1111(h)(1)(C)(viii), the percentage of classes not taught by highly qualified teachers at all grade levels (and disaggregated by high- and low-poverty schools), as required for the Annual State Report Card.

Area 2: Administration of ESEA Title II, Part A

Critical Element 2.2: Does the SEA require an application from each LEA before providing Title II, Part A funding? If yes, what information does the SEA require in the LEA application (§2122(b))?

Commendation: The State is commended for the high quality of its LEA consolidated application. The application form is comprehensive and well organized and can be used by LEAs to analyze their needs and set priorities.

Critical Element 2.9: Does the SEA conduct regular, systematic reviews of LEAs to monitor for compliance with Federal statutes and regulations, applicable State rules and policies, and the approved subgrant application?

Commendation: The State is commended for its LEA monitoring schedule and the high quality of its monitoring instrument. The monitoring schedule has three phases that provide LEAs with opportunities to improve prior to the final judgment. In the first phase, self-monitoring, LEAs use the monitoring instrument to determine whether they are in compliance and can request assistance. In the second phase, the desk audit, the State reviews the findings from phase one and offers additional technical assistance. In the third and final phase, the State conducts a compliance review using its 276-item field-monitoring instrument and gives citations, if appropriate. Items with outstanding citations are reviewed for progress on an annual basis by the State.

Area 3: State Activities

Critical Element 3.1: Does the State use its State Activities funds to promote the recruitment, hiring, training, and retention of highly qualified teachers and principals?

Commendation: The State is commended for its creative distribution of State Activities funds through a competition for projects. This approach results in higher quality projects and is an effective way to contend with limited personnel at the SEA.

Area 4: State Agency for Higher Education (SAHE) Activities

Critical Element 4.1: Did the SAHE manage a competition for eligible partnerships?

Commendation: The State is commended for using experienced teachers on the review panel for the eligible partnership competition.

Commendation: The State is commended for encouraging funded eligible partnerships to seek additional sources of funding to promote sustainability.

Commendation: The State is commended for monitoring each eligible partnership three times per year.

Commendation: The State is commended for the high level of communication and coordination between the State educational agency and the State agency for higher education.

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